How Much Sleep Does Your Child Need?
Your child needs more sleep. 45% of Americans get poor sleep or insufficient sleep; our children are part of that statistic. Your child’s brain needs sleep even more than an adult does. Sleep to a baby is his/her time to wire the paths in the brain that record social interaction, record memories of movements, and learn about his/her environment. Sleep is learning to any child. Study after study shows child sleep deprivation leads to lower grades, poor thought processes, awkward social interactions, and stunted mental growth. Our children are suffering from a need for less activity and more sleep.
We often don’t know when our kids are tired and sleep deprived. Children don’t slow down like we do. Kids wind up; they get hyper, uncontrollable, and louder. Sleepiness in children can appear to look like attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
A newborn to a three-year-old is barely forming his/her brain synapsis; it’s brain functions. Sleep helps set memories into learning. The importance of sleep to a child of this age range cannot be overstated. These years are genuinely a persons mental development years. Sleep deprivation at this age has been shown in studies to cause learning disabilities and issues such as ADHD.
School-aged children who are sleep deprived often have lower school grades and a higher number of behavioral issues. Their behavioral problems are caused by an inability to concentrate and a reluctance to sit still. The child brain will act out when it is tired creating a failure to learn. Parents often blame sugar for these symptoms, however, attention should be placed on the child’s sleep patterns.
So just how much sleep is necessary for your child? You will be surprised by some of the recommendations. Below is the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Duration Recommendation Chart. Use this information to help you with your child’s development. It is amazing to think something as simple as sleep can help your child as much as it does.
Please feel free to comment on this subject or give advice on things or processes you’ve used to help your child get better sleep in the box below. Remember when your, OR your child Sleep Well, you Live Well.
Source:
https://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need, https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-How-Many-Hours-Does-Your-Child-Need.aspx, https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children#1, https://www.snuza.com/sleep-brain-development-children-early-development/
About the author:
Javier is the owner of Sleep Well, professionally trained sleep stores, specializing in specific mattresses for specific needs. He lives to give. He is an active member of his community and church. His hard work and efforts pay off for him when he can help others, and give to efforts for the betterment of others.
His spare time is spent with his beautiful wife, Gretchen. They are craft beer hobbyists who enjoy making their own beers, visiting small breweries, and making new friends. Their lives revolve around church, family, exercising, four great dogs, and keeping up with their home in Alamogordo NM.
